I sat down with someone I consider to be a bit of brewing history himself — Brett Porter of Goose Island in Chicago. He’s been brewing since 1988 when he graduated from the University of Oregon before continuing his studies in biology, chemistry and English. He interned at Bunce's Brewery and Holden’s Brewery in England, and then landed back in Oregon where he served as head brewer of Portland Brewing until 2005. But his real claim to fame was his stint at Deschutes in Bend, Oregon from 2005-2010, following a major expansion that included a new production brewery with a 50bbl brewhouse. Not bad for a brewery that did 310 barrels in its first year back in 1988. And in 2011, Brett Porter joined Goose Island as brewmaster, less than two months after the sale to Anheuser-Bush. I’d imagine that looking ahead at the expansion AB had in store for the brewery, that getting a guy like Brett into the captain’s chair felt very comforting.